Of course I was early, I usually am when I’m heading somewhere new or am nervous. We sat in the parking lot for a bit of time before confirming our arrival via text with the trainer.
It was a rainy morning and I did not bring a coat or an umbrella. Oh well, par for the course. We met the trainer in the parking lot and had a good laugh about the trip when he realized I drove in from the state of Indiana, not the town in Pennsylvania.
We walked up the older wooden stairs to the upper room at the training facility. The room was painted to match his branding, bright red and black. The mat-like flooring made for easy traction for the pups. We started the session just by chatting about what we hoped to accomplish, the issues we were navigating, and what I had actively been doing. I didn’t mention anything about rehoming.
We worked through a number of exercises, everything from simple onlead walking to walking through a kiddie pool with balls. There was a balance of evaluating basic everyday skills verses her confidence and willingness to try new things.
The following two hours were great, so informative. Towards the end I was looking for the laundry list of additional things we needed to be doing to try to make this work, there wasn’t anything to add. I just needed to continue forward with the consistency we had established. Oh man, was there a sweet lesson from the Lord in faithfully showing up and doing the work even when I didn’t feel like I was seeing any change.
Before leaving for the afternoon I mustered up the courage to ask him if he really thought we could do this or if I really needed to consider rehoming her. He was shocked by the question, from his perspective with continued perseverance and consistency we would be a successful duo.
Much to my surprise he even asked me to come back that evening to join in on another session he had. The added layer of another dog would be good for Annie and helpful for the work he wanted to do in that session. I was blown away, this trip was going far better than I could have ever imagined. I was truly shocked.
He did not magically fix Annie and there really wasn’t anything wildly new or different I needed to implement. Annie was just a challenging dog that loved to push every single boundary. I often call her the energizer bunny because she has the endurance to last and she leveraged that endurance during every moment of training. I couldn’t let my guard down or compromise once because if I gave an inch she took a mile.
Two days after we arrived we were packing up all our belongings and starting the long trek home. It would be a long drive but I was feeling a new rush of encouragement that we could do this. I just had to keep showing up each day giving it my all and holding her accountable.
We would make one more trip to Pittsburgh that year for a follow-up session and group class. During our private lesson we continued strategizing how to keep momentum in her training as we pushed forward. Our game plan was the catalyst for e-collar training and the next season of change for us.
Honestly, as I reflected on the second session in Pittsburgh I lamented that we hadn’t made significant progress in the four months since we’d last been there. However, I knew we were consistently putting in the work and I was starting to see small glimmers of hope.
Things were starting to click for Annie.
Rue & Oak 